The Art of Selling Used Lab Equipment

What’s needed for a Successful Lab Equipment Auction

When we first started this company, we kept everything tight to the vest and I normally would not have written a blog about this years ago. It was the industry norm to not let too much out there in terms of methods. I was just sitting here reviewing a competitor’s auction and noticing the low bids and mundane performance of lab assets that were being sold. The values are well below where they should be for a lab auction in the current market. I am looking at the listings and pictures and can instantly see why. Like I said, years ago I would have never thought of posting this as I assumed, we did not want to let out some magical step by step to do guide on selling lab equipment. However, no matter how much I write here it is not going to make another company learn all the facets of lab equipment and put the work and attention into what is needed to have a successful lab liquidation or lab auction.

Lab Auction Onsite

Nowadays technology makes it easy to be able to evaluate a lab without flying all the way across the company to see equipment that might not be a fit. The technology on our smart phones makes it easy to catalog and snap away and auction software has direct uploads etc. That is all part of the problem with a lot of lab auctions.  Many vendors you may look at will hire someone for as cheap as possible and send them onsite to slap some stickers on the assets and take some quick pictures. In the end the auctioneer makes a little money you make a little money and that is the end of it. The buyer may get a good product or may get a giant headache. That is a horrible situation for everybody involved.

Maximize Return on Your Lab Equipment

The first step The Lab World Group takes to maximize your return is something that cannot be taught through a simple blog or even months of training. Fact is simple all our employees and staff know the lab equipment we sell and auction off. One of the main things people do not know is what lab equipment or accessories go with each other. For example, they may have an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer. However, the priming station vortexer and test chips may not be grouped with the machine. This result is a bad auctioneer making a separate listing for the accessories. However, the problem is that if you had a nice complete bioanalyzer system it may have sold for $8000. However, people then become reluctant to bid on the main time as it is not complete with accessories. This then results in your receiving a lower return for your lab equipment. Seeing it is split up they may not bid as high on the main asset. Then after the main asset is sold no one bids up the accessories because they have no use.  It would be like if you purchased a car, and they sold the tires separately in another auction. Anyone who works in a lab environment knows how expensive parts are and how time consuming they can be to acquire. They take this into account when bidding on incomplete items in an auction they are participating in.

Correctly Showing Used Lab Equipment

One of the key techniques in listing auction items for sale is to show the customer exactly what they are getting as far as functionality of the lab equipment. This takes a vast knowledge of multiple types of lab equipment. Part of maximizing the auction return for both ourselves and our clients is showing the lab equipment working. If a refrigerated centrifuge is put up for sale in a lab auction a potential buyer is going to want to see the functionality. Take for example a Thermo Legend XTR that might be in an auction. The customer will want to see what rotor is included. Taking a nice up close shot of the rotor is an easy way to achieve this. Taking the extra time to make a complete listing based on what is shown in the pictures is the next step. This would include information on the rotors, rotor inserts, max rpm and rcf and any other info that is relevant. Since the centrifuge is refrigerate you must also show the customer that it is cooling and functioning at the lowest temperature possible for that centrifuge model.

There are hundreds of types of equipment and thousands of model of lab equipment that can be present in labs. Therefore, with our lab auctions we send a technician onsite with the marketing team to prep the equipment. The technician will arrive onsite and assist with pairing accessories with the appropriate piece of lab equipment to maximize the auctions value. We will search the lab for any manuals and accessories and pair them up before cataloging. The technician will prep units and plug them in. For example, an incubator will be plugged in and allowed to reach the most common temperature of 37C and 5% or 7% CO2. Most lab auctioneers see this as wasted time and an unnecessary step. It is wasted time because their staff is not cross trained in the lab equipment or has no experience beyond basic photos etc. However, this type of attention to detail can make a huge difference in an auction overall result.

Lab Auction Experience

The experience of the lab auction is going to make a huge difference. If the auction was easy to register for that is the first step in buyer satisfaction. Second step is when the customer logs in and starts seeing pictures and videos of the equipment. If the lab items are clean, decontaminated, appropriate accessories are grouped with the item and the lab equipment is shown in correct functional condition then the buyer is going to be willing to spend more on the assets. This benefits everyone involved in the auction, buyer, seller and auctioneer. As a customer selling your lab equipment your fiscal return is increased. The customer buying the asset is happier because they received a working item with many of the accessories. We are happy because we have a happy seller and buyer and that allows us to grow and be profitable. In the end everyone wins and that is the exact type of lab auction we always look to conduct. 

Contact Us for your Lab Liquidation or Lab Auction

Call us at 617-999-5746

Follow the link to Contact Us Directly through our website

E-mail us at [email protected]

PS: We get back to you almost instantly as that is part of a customer service we love to provide. We always treat others like we want to be treated. Hiring The Lab World Group to sell your used lab equipment is a no brainer.